Packaging machine



OC- 5, l954 P. A. KETCHPEL ET AL 2,690,634

PACKAGING MACHINE Filed Nov. 29, 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENToRs PAUL KTG/PL HE/PM/N /l EGLI @we a.

Oct 5, l954 P. A. KETCHPEL ET AL 690,634

PACKAGING MACHINE Filed Nov. 29, 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 544 mi@ f 52;, 9.3 i l 3 s" 5? 545 l I, 52

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546 547 54g INVENTORS Paz/L A. KETGHPEL HEDM//V h. EGLI /L @MQW Patented Oct. 5, 1954 PACKAGING MACHINE Paul A. Ketchpel, West Englewood, and Herman Karl Egli, New Milford, N. J., assignors to Ketchpel Engineering Company, West Englewood, N. d., a corporation Application November 29, 1948, Serial No. 62,468

7 Claims.

This invention relates to packaging machines and various components parts of such machines.

It is an object of this invention to provide an auger feed mechanism for that type of machine which includes means for, advancing a web of material, shearing off a sheet, forming a container from said sheet; filling said container, closing said container and discharging said filled container from the machine.

It is an object or" the invention to provide a lling mechanism in which an auger delivers materials to be packaged through a punch which formed the container.

It is a further object to provide a hopper mechanism holding a six or eight hour supply of material, including an agitator for keeping the material agitated to insure uniform quantity in feeding, an auger mechanism for intermittently discharging a measured quantity of material from the hopper into a tube for lling a container located in a rotary table at the lower end of the tube, said auger mechanism being operated in timed relation with the machine to avoid spillage of the material on the rotary table.

lt is a further object of the invention to provide a transmission for a filling machine which will give continuous rotation to an agitator and give intermittent rotation to an auger located at the lower end of said agitator and having its drive shaft extending down through said agitator.

It is an object to provide mechanism for rotating an auger intermittently 'by a clutch that is engaged by a cam that may be adjusted to vary the period of clutch engagement and thereby provide means for accurately controlling the quantity of material to be fed.

It is another object to provide a low cost filling machine resulting from forming the cylindrical sections of the hopper and the frame of the machine from one integral sheet or piece of tubing.

It is another object of the invention to provide means for packaging materials with mechanism which would be only semi-automatic in operation, wherein a single revolution clutch mechanism on the drive shaft combined with an additional clutch for controlling the intermittent rotation of the auger would provide means for the fastest operation with accurate mechanical control on the quantity of material supplied into the containers.

It is a further object to provide a conveyor mechanism for a lling machine for conveying the material from a knee-high receptacle at the base of the machine to an elevated hopper by a screw conveyor formed on a drive shaft extending from (Cl. 53-93l 2 the receptacle to a transmission mounted at the top of the hopper.

A fuller understanding of the nature of these and other objects of the invention will be had by referring to the following detailed description in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a View in elevation of a packaging machine employing the invention with some parts removed and other parts shown in section to better illustrate the invention.

Figure 2 is an enlarged plan View of the transmission unit shown in Figure 1, with parts removed and others broken away.

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken along the line 3 3 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is an end elevational view of the transmission mechanism illustrated in Figure 2 with some parts broken away and other parts omitted for the sake of clarity.

Figure 5 is a view in elevation of a iilling machine employing the invention with some parts removed and other parts shown in section.

Figure 6 is asectional View taken along the line or" Figure 5.

Referring to the drawings Figures l, 2, 3 and 4, there is shown in Figure 1 apparatus similar to the mechanism shown in a co-pending application of Paul A. Ketchpel, Serial No. 36,225. The present invention differs from the application referred to in disclosing auger vfeed mechanism which is intermittently operated for lling containers rather than the metering wheel apparatus shown in the aforesaid application.

Metering wheels are provided with a cavity which lls up when rotated under a hopper and then discharges its load of material when the metering wheel is oscillated 180 to discharge its load. When packaging powderlike materials similar to common soda and other such tacky materials, the cavity in metering wheels soon loses its full capacity because these materials adhere to the bottom of the cavity and short weight takes place in the packagesthat are being filled. This trouble is entirely removed by use of the auger mechanism herein disclosed, of which the following is a full description:

The machine is provided with frame H02 and stationary table IM. Bearing housing |34 mounted on the stationary table M4, is equipped with bearings 933 for supporting a hollow spindle ll. A Geneva cam 35 is mounted von the lower vend of the hollow spindle ISI and it is caused to rotate intermittently by `a Geneva crank not shown here.

which is mounted on and caused to be turned by a cam shaft |8. A rotary table |60 is mounted on the upper end of the hollow spindle |3| and rotated intermittently therewith. A number of shouldered recesses |6| are provided in the rotary work table |60 to accommodate the product sleeves |62 having flanges |63 that engage the recesses |6l. The product sleeves |62 are provided with a small bore |64 at their lower end and a larger bore |65 at their upper end in which a plunger |66 is mounted for vertical reciprocation. Plunger |66 is provided at its upper end with a flange |61 that fits the larger bore |65. The plunger is also provided with a spherical seat |68 at its upper end and a ball bearing |69 at its lower end. The plunger is moved downward in the product sleeve by gravity and is caused to rise by contours on a ring cam |10 mounted on the stationary table |04.

The Geneva crank |25 and cam |35 cause the rotary work table to stop for its intermittent dwell with one of the product sleeves |62 directly over the cam shaft ||8. The contour of the ring cam |16 is at its lowest point at this station and the plunger |66 is all the way down in the product sleeve |62, providing a, cavity 269 in the product sleeve |62 immediately above the i spherical end |68 of the plunger |66.

The container to be lled is formed at this station. The mechanism for feeding the paper web and shearing it off in single sheets will now Abe described. A paper feed mechanism is shown mounted on the stationary work table |04 adjacent to the cavity 289 at the container forming station. It comprises a frame |16 in which an upper feed roll shaft |82 and lower feed roll shaft |83 are mounted. These feed roll shafts are provided with companion gears not shown and rubber rollers |86 and |81 for intermittently advancing a web 233 of paper or other material as they are intermittently rotated by mechanism A lever 2|6 is provided on a shaft 2|1 which is mounted in bearings not shown in the frame |16 and is oscillated in timed relation with the machine by mechanism not shown. The outer end of the lever is connected to a paper shear blade 208. Thus the web of material is advanced over the cavity 289 in the product sleeve and a single sheet is sheared off and rests centrally over the cavity 289.

The punch for forming a container from the sheet which has been sheared from the web of material will now be described. The sliding head |40 comprising a plate |4| and a tubular shaft |42 are mounted for vertical reciprocation within the hollow spindle |3|. A cam follower |43 is mounted in the lower end of the tubular shaft |42 and is provided with an upper cam roller |48 and a lower cam roller |49 not shown between which a cam |23 is mounted which had an upper and lower contour |50 and 5| not shown for reciprocating the sliding head |40. A punch 25| is suitably mounted to the sliding head and reciprocates vertically therewith. On its downward stroke it pushes the sheet of web material down into the cavity 289 to form the container.

A hopper 251 is supported on the stationary work table |04 by the upright frame members 254 in such a position that its lower discharge end is directly in line with the punch and over the cavity 289. Cross channel members 253 extend between the upright frame members 254 on which the lower end of the hopper is supported. The hopper comprises a cylindrical portion 261 and a lower conical portion 268 which is provided with a ange 256 which rests on the cross channels 253.

A feed tube 255 is provided with a ange 356 and bolted to the under side of the hopper. If desired, the feed tube may be constructed of an upper and lower portion to facilitate assembling. It should be noted that the feed tube 255 is mounted to telescope within the hollow punch 25 The means for controlling the supply of material to be fed from the hopper 251 through the feed tube 255 and hollow punch 25| to fill the container will now be described. In the present case, an auger mechanism which is operated intermittently in timed relation with other elements of the packaging machine comprises a vertical drive shaft 285 equipped with universal joints 283, a flexible shaft 284 and a shaft 500 extending up along the cylindrical portion of the hopper 261 and is mounted at its lower end in bearing 282. This drive shaft is driven from gearing in the base of the machine (not shown) and if desired may be brought up on the outside of the frame, but in Figure l we prefer to show it extending up through the sliding head |40 and the rotary table |60. The upper end of the shaft 500 extends into a transmission unit 50| mounted at the top of the hopper 251. The shaft 500 is mounted in a lower bearing 502 in the transmission housing 503 which is fastened to the hopper 251 by angles 504 and bolts 505. The shaft 500 extends upward through the transmission housing and its upper end is mounted in the upper bearing 506 in the transmission cover 501 which is illustrated best in Figures 2, 3, and 4. .Shaft 500 is rotated continuously in timed relation with the rotary table |60 and other parts of the machine.

A small sprocket 508 is keyed on shaft 500 and is connected by a chain 509 to drive a large sprocket 5H] which rotates an agitator mechanism located in the conical portion 268 of the hopper. The agitator mechanism comprises a tubular shaft 5|| which is mounted in the lower bearing 5|2 on the housing 503. The large sprocket 5| 0 is keyed to this tubular shaft 5|| and lower end extends down into the hopper 251 where its lower end is supported in a channel 5|3 which is supported in the hopper. Below the channel 5|3, an agitator 5|4 is mounted on the tubular shaft 5| The agitator comprises a hub 5|5, radial arms 5|6, a blade 5|?, and a tubular extension 5|8 which is provided with pins or conveyor flights 5|9. The arms 5|6 and blade 5|1 are arranged to agitate the material in the conical section 268 of the hopper 251. The flights 5|9 on the tubular extension are arranged to agitate the material in the upper part 252 of the feed tube 255. This agitator mechanism is turning continually at a slow speed and insures that the material to be fed from the hopper will be prevented from arching over and that an ample supply of material will always be present at the lower end of the feed tube 255. Associated with the material supply mechanism, a helical escapement, or auger 520 is provided in the feed tube 255. It comprises flights of small diameter with a fast lead for that portion mounted in the small end 52| of the feed tube 255 and is provided with tapering ights of larger diameter and slower lead for that portion mounted in the tapering section 522 and enlarged straight upper section 523 and also a hub 524 provided with an internal thread 525. A double flight may be used at the lower end of the auger to prevent dribble Iattacca.

of free .flowing ymaterials .onto the rotary vwork table |60 after the auger has stoppedlturning.

The mechanism for rotating the auger 'i520 during that period of time allotted to the filling of the container and stopping it quickly and-holding it against rotation at other periods will now be explained. The auger 526 is screwed on an auger shaft 526 which extends up through the tubular shaft 5|! .and is mounted in a bearing 521 in the cover 501. It is equipped with a small sprocket 528 and is connected by a chain529 to a large sprocket 530 which is freely mounted on the vertical drive shaft 500. The lower side of .the large `sprocket 530 is equipped with a clutch lining 53| with high friction qualities, like brake lining or clutch facing. A coil spring 532 is dis- .posed between a ball bearing in the hub of the .down on a brake ring 533 supported by three posts 534 secured to the lower wall of the transmission housing 503. This mechanism quickly stops the auger 529 and holds it against rotation.

A clutch 535, comprising a flange 536 and a hub 531, is splined on the shaft 559 and mounted for sliding thereon to engage and rotate the sprocket 530. A wide cam roller 538 is mounted on a stud 539 screwed in the hub 531 of the clutch .535. A sector of a ring cam 556 is provided on the bottom wall of the transmission housing 503 for raising the clutch 535 and causing it to engage the clutch lining 53! and turn the large sprocket 539. This will cause the small sprocket 528 on the auger shaft 526 to rotate several revolutions according to 'the length of the sector of ring cam used.

The amount of rotation of the auger may be adjusted by making the length of the sector of the ring cam 549 variable. This may be accomplished by providing a rigid sector 54! being fixed with the transmission housing 563 and supplemented with a movable ring cam sector 502 as shown best in Figures 2 and 3. The movable cam sector 542 is welded to a sliding block-5ll3mounted in an arcuate slot 541| cut in the bottom wall of the housing 503.

The sliding block 543 is provided with a clamping bolt 555 which is provided with a knurled knob 546. An eye bolt 541 is mounted on the clamping bolt 555 having its threaded end engaging a cam adjusting knob 548 mounted in the pivoted bearing 549 to the bottom wall of the transmission housing 503. Thus upon unscrewing the clamping bolt 585 the movable cam sector 542 can be shifted by the .cam adjusting knob 54S to lengthen or shorten the length of the sector of ring cam 548 as desired, to regulate the number of revolutions that the auger will turn to control the amount of material which the auger will deliver `from the feed tube 255. The maximum length of the ring sector, of course, must not be so long as to exceed the period of dwell which is given to the rotary work table |69. Furthermore, the beginning and end of the ring sector must be properly positioned to be in time relation with the movement of the rotary table |60 to prevent spillage of materialsthereon.

Chain tightening rollers 560 are mounted .on levers 56| which are in turn mounted on a shaft 562 screwed into the bottom wall of the transmission housing 503 at its lower end and assembled in bracket 563 kwelded to the wall of the transmission unit 50! at its upper end. A spring 564 is anchored to a clip 566 on the opposite side Wall I of the transmission housing 503. The other end of the spring is fastened to a wire 565 having-a loop atzitscenter and its two outer ends fastened Vto the twolevers 56| supporting the chain tightintermittent motion and in time-relation with the machine shown in Figure 1.

The same mechanism as heretofore disclosed can be used to advantage in that type of .packaging machine usually referred to as a filling machine. Such a machine is shown in Figures 5 and 6 in which the frame of the machine 515 comprises of an upright cylinder 516. A base ring 511 is welded to the lower part of the frame 51.5. An opening 518 is cut out in the cylinder 516 to provide a support for av work table 519 being welded in the upright cylinder 516. That portion of the upright cylinder 516 above the opening 518 may be used to advantage for the cylindrical section 580 of a overhead hopper 58|.

The lower portion 582 of the overhead hopper .58| may comprise a conical section 583 welded yto the cylindrical section 580. The conical section may-also be provided with a ange 584 at its lower end. A feed tube 585 may be secured to the flange 584. The feed tube 585 may comprise a large diameter 586 at its upper end and a small diameter 581 at its lower end. An auger 59| is mounted in the feed tube 585. It is rotated by an auger shaft 592 through the transmission unit 50| mounted on the top of the hopper 58|. The construction of this transmission unit is similar to that shown in Figures #2, #3 and #4 and as explained above has mechanism for operating the auger intermittently. The continuous rotating drive shaft in the transmission unit extends down along the back of the frame 515 to a knee high hopper 594 which includes the chute 595. The vertical shaft is housed in a Uf-shaped conduit 596 secured to the upright cylinder 515 and extending from the lower portion of the hopper 591i to an aperture 591. in the side wall of the cylindrical portion 580 of the hopper 58|.

Conveyor flights 600 are provided upon the vertical shaft 593 and upon rotation of this shaft materials poured into the knee-high hopper 594 will be conveyed to the hopper 58|, eliminating the strenuous labor, mess, dangers of lling va high hopper with the use of stepladders, etc.

Vertical shaft 5.93 extends through the lower wall of the knee-high hopper 594 into a gear The gear box is provided with a pair of bevel gears 602. One such gear is mounted on the lower end of the lvertical shaft 593 and the other beveled gear is mounted on a horizontal shaft B03 mounted on the bearings 604 and .605.

Preferably the inner hub.606 of a 4well known .one-revolution-,clutch 601 is keyed to shaft 603.

weight of the trip vlever tends to return it to a position where it will disengage the clutch.

A link SI1 is connected to the trip lever 6l5 between its ends and also to a bellcrank 6| 6 pivotly mounted to the frame by a bolt 620. A rod 62| connects the bellcrank 619 and a second bellcrank 622 which is pivoted to the frame and is equipped with a foot pedal 623 which extends out through an opening in the frame 515 for ,Y manually controlling the engagement of the l0 clutch.

A ratio motor 624 is provided with a variable pulley 625 and is mounted for adjustment in the frame 515 by the hand wheel 626. A belt 621 is provided between pulley 625 and a slow'l5 speed pulley 628 which is mounted on and drives the outer housing 608 of the clutch 651 according to the speed at which it is desired to operate the machine. It should be readily under- ,l stood that various size feed tubes 585 and augers"- 59| may be used to ll larger or smaller containers. Also that the filling machine just described may be equipped with complete automatic mechanism for forming containers and` moving them in and out of engagement with' 25 the feed tube or, if desired, a less expensive machine can be provided with a corresponding smaller rate of production by utilizing a singlerevolution-clutch and automatic equipment tor,Z perform only certain steps in the process for'30 semi-automatic operation.

Thus it will now be apparent that we have disclosed the construction for a machine which may be used to accurately feed uniform measured quantities of material from a hopper into containers formed by the machine or containers presented manually thereto.

The construction disclosed and described represents the preferred and commercially used. form of the invention, but various changes o detail may be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

We claim:

1. A packaging machine of the character cle-,.45 scribed, comprising a frame, a worktable mounted for intermittent rotation on said frame, spaced dies provided on said worktable, plungers mounted in said dies for discharging containers therefrom, a sliding head mounted for reciprocating movement above said table, a hollow punch mounted on said sliding head and positioned at a work station, means for moving said worktable intermittently to place the spaced dies in sequence below the punch at the work station 155 during the dwell period of said worktable, sheet feeding mechanism arranged to supply a sheet of container material over the die positioned at the work station during the dwell of said worktable, power mechanism incorporated in said-60 machine for driving same and reciprocating said sliding head up and down, a hopper mounted above said worktable for supplying material to be packaged through said hollow punch, a feed tube extending from said hopper to said hollow punch, an auger in said feed tube for delivering material to the punch, said power mechanism including a drive shaft extending to said hopper, means associated with said drive shaft and said auger for rotating said auger while said punch is engaging said die and while the movement of said reciprocating sliding head is causing said punch to engage the die on the stationary worktable at the work station, means for actuating said plunger in said dies to remove the containers Ytherefrom as the table moves them successively to another station.

2. In combination, in a packaging machine, a frame, a worktable mounted for intermittent rotation on said frame, spaced dies on said worktable, a sliding head arranged for vertical reciprocation in said worktable, a discharge tube mounted on said sliding head and positioned at a work station, means for moving said worktable intermittently to place one of said dies in sequence below the discharge tube at the work station during the dwell period of said worktable, power mechanism incorporated in said machine for driving same and reciprocating said sliding head up and down in said worktable, a hopper mounted above said worktable for supplying material to be packaged to said discharge tube, a feed tube mounted rigid with said hopper and extending from said hopper to said discharge tube and engaging therein, an auger in said feed tube delivering material to the discharge tube, said power mechanism including a drive shaft extending to said hopper, and means associated with said drive shaft and said auger for rotating said auger while said discharge tube is being actuated and while the movement of said reciprocating sliding head is causing said discharge tubes to engage the die which is positioned at the work station during the dwell period of said worktable.

3. In combination, in a packaging machine, a frame, a worktable mounted for intermittent rotation on said frame, spaced dies on said worktable, a sliding head arranged for vertical reciprocation in said worktable, a discharge tube mounted on said sliding head and positioned at a work station, means for moving said worktable intermittently to place one of said dies in sequence below the discharge tube at the work station during the dwell period of said worktable, power mechanism incorporated in said machine for driving same and reciprocating said sliding head up and down in said worktable, a hopper mounted above said worktable for supplying material to be packaged to said discharge tube, a feed tube mounted rigid with said hopper and extending from said hopper to said discharge tube and engaging therein, an auger in said feed tube delivering material to the discharge tube, said power mechanism including a drive shaft extending to said hopper, auger drive means provided between said shaft and said auger, said auger drive means including a clutch, a cam for engaging the clutch while the movement of said reciprocating sliding head is causing the feed tube to approach the die positioned at the work station during the dwell period of the worktable and means for adjusting the period of clutch engagement.

4. In combination, in a packaging machine, a frame, a worktable mounted for intermittent rotation on said frame, spaced dies on said worktable, a sliding head arranged for vertical reciprocation in said worktable, a discharge tube mounted on said sliding head and positioned at a work station, means for moving said worktable intermittently to place one of said dies in sequence below the discharge tube at the work station during the dwell period of said worktable, power mechanism incorporated in said machine for driving same and reciprocating said sliding head up and down in said worktable, a hopper mounted above said worktable for supplying material to be packaged to said discharge tube, a feed tube mounted rigid with said hopper and extending from said hopper to said discharge tube and engaging therein, an auger in said feed tube delivering material to the discharge tube, said power mechanism including a drive shaft extending to said hopper, a drive mechanism connecting said power shaft and said auger which is mounted in a transmission housing located at the top of the hopper, said drive mechanism comprising a driving member freely mounted on the power shaft and having a friction surface on its bottom face, a brake ring provided in said transmission housing on which a portion of the friction face of the driving member normally rests, and a clutch member provided on said power shaft in said transmission for engaging the friction face of said driving member to rotate the auger while said discharge tube is approaching said dies and while said dies are positioned in said work station during the dwell period of said intermittently moved workta'ole.

5. In combination, in a packaging machine, a frame, a worktable mounted for intermittent rotation on said frame, spaced dies on said Worktable, a sliding head arranged for vertical reciprocation in said worktable, a discharge tube mounted on said sliding head and positioned at a work station, means for moving said worktable intermittently to place one of said dies in sequence below the discharge tube at the work station during the dwell period of said worktable, power mechanism incorporated in said machine for driving same and reciprocating said sliding head up and down in said worktable, a hopper mounted above said worktable for supplying Inaterial to be packeted to said discharge tube, a feed tube mounted rigid with said hopper and extending from said hopper to said discharge tube and engaging therein, an auger in said feed tube delivering material to the discharge tube, said power mechanism including a drive shaft extending to said hopper, driving mechanism connecting said power shaft and said auger, a transmission housing in which said driving mechanism is mounted, said drive mechanism comprising a driving member freely mounted on the power shaft and having a friction surface on its face, a brake member provided on said transmission housing against which the face of the driving member is normally restrained, a clutch member splined on said power shaft, a cam roller provided on said clutch member, and a cam ring sector supported by said transmission housing for contacting the roller and engaging the clutch during a portion of the cycle of the machine 19 whereby the application of the brake to stop the auger is simultaneous with the disengagement of the clutch member, and the withdraw of the discharge tube way from the die which is positioned at the work station during the dwell period of the intermittently moved rotary table.

6. In combination, a frame, a rotatable worktable mounted on said frame and provided with a plurality of dies equally spaced along its perimeter; driving means connected to said worktable to intermittently rotate the same and sequentially position each die successively at a location defined as a container forming station; feeding means for feeding a sheet of container material over each die when said each die is positioned at said forming station; a reciprocatable hollow punch supported by said frame and positioned at said forming station; means to reciprocate said punch to a first position in which said punch forces said sheet into each die as it is moved to the forming station and forms a container therein and then to a second position in which said punch is withdrawn from said die a hopper containing ller attached to said frame and positioned over said punch, said hopper being provided with a filler discharge orifice; a rotatable helical escapement mechanism connected between said orice and the top of said punch to feed filler through said punch onto said sheet when said mechanism is rotated; and means in timed relation with said punch reciprocation means to rotate said mechanism within successive intervals each of which is initiated by the positioning of a die at the forming station and terminated by the withdrawal of the punch from said die.

7. The combination as set forth in claim 6 wherein said escapement mechanism comprises an auger provided with helical nights of varied dimension advancing along the filler feed path.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 518,427 Rau Apr. 17, 1894 646,355 Butler et al Mar. 2'7, 1900 1,499,338 Bond July 1, 1924 2,115,464 Kirby Apr. 26, 1938 2,127,726 Goetz Aug. 23, 1938 2,330,862 Bleam Oct. 5, 1943 2,541,742 Booth Feb. 13, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 252,090 Great Britain May 20, 1926 

